(credit: vietnamnet.vn) Lianys Torres Rivera is Cuba’s Ambassador to the US in Washington DC.
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
Cuba’s ambassador to the United States Lianys Torres Rivera was confronted by a group of hostile Cuban dissidents while she dined at an upscale restaurant in Tampa Florida Friday evening. The angry dissidents staged a protest inside Mise en Place restaurant that serves French-inspired modern cuisine at the establishment located near the University of Tampa. The protesters disrupted the Cuban ambassador’s dinner with a group of business officials and local politicians.
“There is no democracy in Cuba, people are hungry, and they come here to eat without thinking about the people or the political prisoners,”
-said one protester
Cuba Dissidents Father and Son Roberto Pizano and Rafael Pizano Jr. Protest Against Cuban Ambassador in Tampa Florida
Roberto Pizano, left, and son Rafael Pizano represent two generations of leadership among the Cuba dissident community in Tampa. People for and against engagement with the Marxist government of Cuba take their inspiration from independence hero Jose Marti, namesake of a memorial park in Ybor City. [GABRIELLA ANGOTTI-JONES | Times ]
Among the Cuban dissidents protesting at the restaurant were led by Roberto Pizano, 84, a member of Casa Cuba in Tampa and a prisoner for 18 years under Castro’s reign and his son, Rafael Pizano Jr., 42.
“You are a representative of Cuba’s murderous government, and you have come to Tampa to eat?” said Pizano. Pizano is also seen in the recording addressing Maniscalco and Perez, shouting angrily: “You are supporting a murderous government!”
-Rafael Pizano Jr., Cuban dissident
HANOI, Vietnam. Dec. 26, 2017 – Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Lianys Torres Rivera (Photo: VGP)
Ambassador Torres is the first woman ever to head Cuba’s mission in Washington. Torres was previously the Cuban ambassador to Vietnam. She replaced Cuba’s top diplomat in the United States José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez in 2021. Cabañas Rodríguez, who had been the chief of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington since 2012, presented his credentials as Cuba’s first ambassador to the US in more than 50 years to President Barack Obama on Sept. 17, 2015. Washington and Havana re-established diplomatic ties after a 54-year absence. His appointment to the post came two months after a restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which had ended during Cold War hostilities in 1961.
